


Rainy Day Visit

by vivvav



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, The AFR Universe, Yoshio Sakamoto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 09:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13163853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivvav/pseuds/vivvav
Summary: On a slow, rainy day, the Sakamotos stop by Haru's cafe for a pleasant chat.





	Rainy Day Visit

Haru sighed softly as the raindrops hit the window. It was a happy sigh. Yes, Cafe Noir was empty, but running the cafe could be hectic. Right now, things were calm. Morgana was napping upstairs, Haru wasn’t rushing to fill out a dozen highly-customized orders at once, there were no spills to clean, and Book Town just looked so pretty in the rain. Haru put on some classical music Yusuke had given her as a gift, poured herself a cup of decaf, and let herself enjoy the calm. She shut her eyes, taking in the music, the sound of the rain, the scent of coffee gently rising into her nose, the stillness of the air. It was a beautiful moment, one she could live in forever. A part of Haru actually hoped that bell above the door would never ring.

Those hopes quickly vanished, but glee filled the void. It was hard to get mad over the ruined moment when the ringing of the bell heralded the arrival of dear friends. In walked the Sakamotos: Ryuji, Hifumi, and their three-year-old son Yoshio.

“Ryuji-Kun! Hifumi-Chan!” Haru ran out from behind the counter. As she reached the trio, she crouched down and hugged Yoshio. “Yoshio-Kun! What brings you all here?”

“We were in the neighborhood.” Hifumi waited for Haru’s hug to end, then crouched down and took off Yoshio’s raincoat. “We had some time to kill, so we thought we’d stop by.”

“Yeah, and it looks like we picked a good time too. Got the whole place to ourselves!” Ryuji put his very large umbrella in a bin by the door, then gave Haru a nervous grin. “Uh, not that you not havin’ business is a good thing, but-“

“I know what you mean Ryuji-Kun.” Haru giggled as she stood up. “I did not think you were wishing my store ill.”

“Aunt Haru’s wet.” Yoshio pointed at Haru’s chest.

“Hm?” Haru looked down at her sweater. It was covered in wet spots, having soaked up some of the rain that had been on Yoshio’s raincoat. “Oh my! It seems I caught it from you, Yoshio-Kun!” Haru beamed at the child. “It’s a good thing you’re so small, or I would be positively drenched!”

“I’m not small!” Yoshio scowled and puffed up his chest. “I’m a big boy!”

“I’m not so sure about that…” Haru ruffled Yoshio’s hair. “But if you’re anything like your father, you will be soon!”

“Darn right!” Ryuji scooped up Yoshio with one arm and put the boy on his shoulders, flexing with his other arm. “Sakamoto men are big and strong!”

“YEAH! STRONG!” Yoshio flexed his arms. “RAAAAH!”

“RAAAAAH!”

As the two continued showing off how big their muscles and voices were, Hifumi snickered and sat down at a table. Haru returned to behind the counter and started making drinks. After a moment, Ryuji and Yoshio stopped screaming and joined Hifumi at the table.

“So, what are you three doing in Book Town?” Haru started to fill one of three cups.

“I have a signing for my new book this afternoon” Hifumi said.

“Your book!?” Haru looked up at Hifumi. “I thought that wasn’t out for another week, Hifumi-Chan!”

“It isn’t. This is a limited advanced release. I was unsure about letting some people get their hands on the book before others, but my publisher assured me it would be good press-”

“Mama!” Yoshio started bouncing in his seat. “Mama! Mama! Mama!”

“C’mon buddy, we’ve talked about this.” Ryuji put his hand on Yoshio’s shoulder. “It’s not nice to interrupt people when they’re havin’ a conversation.”

“But the present!” Yoshio pointed to Hifumi’s purse. “Remember!? The present for Aunt Haru!”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t forget.” Hifumi pulled a small rectangular gift wrapped in pink paper out of her purse and held it out to Yoshio. “Would you like to give it to Aunt Haru?”

“YEAH!” Yoshio grabbed the book and ran behind the counter, holding the present up to Haru and jumping up and down. “Aunt Haru! We got you somethin’!”

“Thank you very much, Yoshio-Kun!” Haru bent down and took the gift, placing it on a tray with the cups she was filling. “I have something for you too!” Haru opened a drawer and pulled out a coloring book and crayons. For as loud as the boy could be, Haru learned he had a knack for sneaking off and knocking things over when nobody was looking, so she kept some child-appropriate activities stocked for the Sakamotos’ visits.

“THANK YOU!” Yoshio ran back to the table excitedly and tore open the box of crayons. He flipped through the coloring book frantically until he found a page that caught his eye, and started scrawling with a yellow crayon. Haru finished making drinks and carried the tray to the table. She placed a cup in front of Hifumi.

“One Cafe Au Lait for Hifumi-Chan…”

“Thank you, Haru.”

“One mocha for Ryuji-Kun…"

“Thanks.” Ryuji took the cup from Haru’s hand, not bothered by how hot it was. He took a sip immediately.

“And one hot chocolate for Yoshio-Kun!” Haru put a tiny cup in front of Yoshio.

Yoshio wasn’t paying attention. He was completely engrossed in his coloring book, his hand moving frantically. His elbow bumped into the cup.

“I’ll just hold onto this ’til he’s ready for it.” Ryuji plucked the little cup and put it out of Yoshio’s reach.

“Are you going to open your gift?” Hifumi asked.

“Of course!” Haru sat down next to Hifumi and neatly peeled off the tape holding the wrapping paper in place, one strip at a time.

As the wrapping paper was pulled away, it revealed a book titled “The Art of War En Miniature” with “Hifumi Sakamoto” printed at the bottom of the cover. Between the title and author’s name was a picture of Hifumi standing tall and pointing towards the reader. Below her was Yoshio, dressed as a samurai, ready to charge towards the reader.

“This cover is adorable!” Haru looked at Hifumi excitedly. “Are you and Yoshio-Kun really going to be in bookstores all over the nation like this!?”

“Sadly, no. That’s a special printing for friends and family only.” Hifumi pouted and crossed her arms. “The publisher thought it wouldn’t fit the tone of the book.”

“I mean, they ain’t wrong” Ryuji said. “It’s all about strategy and theory and stuff, yeah? A three-year-old samurai kinda sends the wrong message.” He eyed the book. “‘Sides, I ain’t comfortable with our kid bein’ part of this. I’ve seen folks try to get to the kids of famous people. I don’t want Yoshio to become a target.”

“You worry too much.” Hifumi sipped at her drink. “We’re not teenagers anymore. I don’t have crazy fans like I used to.”

“You ain’t MET any crazy fans like you used to.” Ryuji shook his head. “I promise you that you still got ‘em.”

“Well, I’m certainly a fan of both you and Yoshio-Kun!” Haru held the book out to Hifumi. “Would you do me the honor of signing your book, Hifumi-Chan?”

“Check the inside.” Hifumi gave Haru a sly smile. Haru opened the book to see Hifumi’s name inscribed, as well as a very rough drawing of a lion underneath it.

“What’s this?” Haru pointed to the lion.

“Yoshio wanted to autograph the book too, seeing how he’s on the cover.” Hifumi pointed to the coloring book page Yoshio was working on. He was currently drawing outside the lines to give a dog a mane. “He’s very fond of lions these days.”

“Huh?” Yoshio looked at the women across the table. Evidently the mention of his favorite animal had caught his attention.

“I was just saying how much I like the lion you drew for me, Yoshio-Kun!” Haru held up the “autograph” so Yoshio could see it.

“YEAH!” Yoshio nodded proudly. “Lions are cool! I wanna be a lion tamer!”

“Not ’til you’re older.” Ryuji shook his head. “A couple days ago we caught him tryin’ to leave the house in the middle of the night. He was plannin' on runnin' away to the circus without tellin’ us.”

“I was gonna send you a letter once I got there!”

“You don’t even know how to write!”

“I woulda learned while trainin’ lions!” Yoshio swung the crayon in his hand around like the handle of a whip. “And then I woulda taught the lions to write too!”

“Yeah, well, how about for now you learn to drink your hot cocoa before it gets cold?” Ryuji slid the cup over to Yoshio. “Aunt Haru made it for you, y’know.”

“‘Kay!” Yoshio put down the crayon and started slurping his drink loudly.

“So, what’s new with you?” Hifumi turned to Haru. “Anything exciting going on outside of the cafe?”

“I’m afraid there’s not much to report right now regarding my social life” Haru said.

“Nothin’?” Ryuji finished his drink. “Don’t you got a ton of guys kickin’ down your door all the time?”

“Well, it’s true that there are a number of men who consider themselves my potential suitors,” Haru said, “but I just don’t feel the same way about them that they do about me.”

“What about that one young man who’s always stopping by?” Hifumi asked.

“You’ll have to be more specific, Hifumi-Chan.” Haru giggled. “I have many regular customers.”

“You know, that younger man. The gun store owner’s son.”

“Kaoru-Kun?”

“Yes. Didn’t you two go on a few dates?”

“We did, but…” Haru let out a long hum. She was trying to think of a nice way to say things. “Kaoru-Kun is very sweet, but I don’t find him at all attractive. I would be happy to have him as a friend, but as a life partner, he lacks a certain joie de vivre.”

“What’s ‘juwah duh’… ‘joy doo’… uh…” Ryuji scratched his head and grunted. “What’s that mean?”

“It’s French” Hifumi said. “It means ‘joy of life’.”

“What, so he’s suicidal or somethin’?”

“Goodness, no!" Haru shook her head frantically. “Kaoru-Kun just isn’t very exciting. I believe a life spent together with him would be a pleasant one, but very little else.”

“I get that” Ryuji said. “Dude’s kind of a dud. I bet you’d wanna do some stuff alone that he ain’t ready for. You gotta find a dude who’s down for a bunch of kinky-“

“RYUJI!” Hifumi glared at her husband and gestured her head towards the three-year-old sitting at the table. Yoshio put down his cup and started looking around, confused. If he hadn’t been paying attention to the adults before, he certainly was now.

“Uh…” Ryuji looked down at Yoshio, who was staring back up at him. “Kingly! Like, you gotta find a guy with a lotta presence and stuff! Real big personality, yeah?”

“That sounds lovely. Sadly, I don’t know any such men.” Haru zoned out for a moment, staring wistfully into the distance. “Well, none except for Mako-Chan’s friend Kanji-San, but neither of us want to move from where we live now.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that guy.” Ryuji shrugged. “Who knows. Maybe Makoto knows someone else like that. I’m sure there’s gotta be a cop you’d find attractive.”

“Perhaps…” Haru sipped her coffee pensively. “I suppose I could call Mako-Chan and ask if she knows anybody.”

“You could ask her tonight, if you’d like” Hifumi said. “We’re having Ren and Makoto over for dinner. You’re more than welcome to join us.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly intrude!”

“It ain’t an intrusion! We invited you!” Ryuji crossed his arms. “It ain’t like Ren and Makoto’ll be mad.”

“What do you say, Yoshio?” Hifumi smiled at her son. “Would you like Aunt Haru to come to our dinner party tonight?”

“YEAH!” Yoshio threw his hands in the air. “You gotta come, Aunt Haru! Dad’s makin’ steaks! Mama says it’s the only thing he knows how to make, but he’s really good at it!”

“Well, I can hardly refuse such an invitation, can I?” Haru giggled.

“If you’re going, I’m going too!”

Morgana appeared from the back, yawning.

“Hi, kitty.” Yoshio waved at Morgana as he strutted over to the table.

“Tell him I’m not a cat.”

“Oh, Mona-Chan!” Haru’s eyes widened. “I hope we didn’t wake you from your nap.”

“I woke up a couple minutes ago.” Morgana jumped up onto the table. “So, what time’s the party?”

“You can’t just invite yourself to the party!” Ryuji sneered at Morgana. “That’s rude, Mona!”

“Rude kitty.” Yoshio poked Morgana.

“You’re the last person I want to hear about etiquette from!” Morgana shouted. “And tell your kid not to poke me!”

“What’s going on?” Hifumi asked.

“Mona-Chan wants to attend dinner tonight” Haru said.

“Do you really plan to exclude me!?” Morgana glared at Ryuji.

“We’re invitin’ Haru ‘cuz we’re tryin’ to set her up with someone! You don’t gotta be there for that!”

“Well maybe I want to be set up with someone too, did you think of that!?”

“None of us know any lady cats!”

“I don’t want to date a cat! I want to date a fellow human!”

“Do you realize how impossible that is!?”

“You just don’t want to try to help me find love, you lazy jerk!”

“What’d you call me!?”

“Bad kitty!” Yoshio poked Morgana again. “Don’t be mean to Dad!”

“Make him stop that!” Morgana yelled.

“Keep pokin’ him, Yoshio!” Ryuji patted Yoshio on the back and gave Morgana an evil grin.

“What are you saying!?” Morgana dodged Yoshio’s finger, jumping to Haru’s side of the table where the boy’s little arms couldn’t reach him. “Don’t encourage animal abuse! Do you want your son to grow up to be a degenerate idiot like you?”

“Bad kitty!” Yoshio threw a crayon at Morgana’s head. “Don’t call Dad an idiot!”

“Ow!” Morgana rubbed the spot where the crayon hit. “Ryuji, tell him to-” Morgana’s eyes widened and he stared at Yoshio. “Did you just…”

After a second, a shocked expression appeared on Ryuji and Haru’s faces. Everyone became quiet.

“What’s going on?” Hifumi looked around the table, confused by the surprised expressions on everyone’s face.

“Yoshio-Kun…” Haru’s face slowly contorted into one of the largest smiles she had ever made. “Can you understand what Mona-Chan is saying!?”

“Yeah! He’s rude!” Yoshio pointed at Morgana angrily. “He keeps calling Dad mean names!”

“Wait…” Hifumi’s eyes widened, her expression matching Ryuji and Haru’s. “Yoshio, you can hear what the cat is saying!?”

“How many times do I have to say it!?” Morgana glared at Hifumi. “I’m NOT a cat!”

“Yuh-huh!” Yoshio slammed his hands on the table. “He’s a liar too!”

* * *

“Grrrr…” Morgana sneered, perched on a tiny stool.

“No, Mona!” Yoshio was waving a sock at the cat. “You’re a lion! You’re s’posed to be all ferocious, like ‘ROAAARRR!’”

“Oh. Like this?” Morgana rose on his hind legs, waving his front paws. “ROAAARRRR!”

“Yeah, that’s it!” Yoshio whipped the sock in Morgana’s direction. “DOWN, VICIOUS BEAST! YAH!”

As the two played their game in the living room, Ryuji, Hifumi, Haru, Ren, and Makoto all watched from the dinner table.

“I can’t believe it” Ren said.

“Nor can I.” Haru giggled. “Just a few hours ago, they were fighting, and now they’re getting along so splendidly!”

“Well, that’s not a surprise.” Ren smiled as Yoshio tried to stick his head into Morgana’s mouth, only for Morgana to push him back. “If I were Morgana, I’d want to get on good terms with the first new person who could understand me in ten years too.”

“Still, it don’t make any sense.” Ryuji leaned on the table. “How can Yoshio understand Mona? He’s never been to the Metaverse.”

“Maybe it’s because his father had one of those ‘Personas’ you’ve mentioned.” Hifumi observed the child at play with an intense stare. “After all, Morgana was created in that other world, wasn’t he? Perhaps something was passed down from Ryuji that allows Yoshio to understand his speech.” Hifumi sighed and looked down at the table. “I must say, it feels somewhat unfair. I gave birth to Yoshio but I can’t understand a word of what Morgana says.”

“I wonder…” Makoto tilted her head to the ceiling.

“You look like you know what’s going on” Ren said.

“Well, it’s just a hypothesis…” Makoto scratched her chin. “But we can understand Morgana because our cognition of him changed when we heard him speak in the Metaverse. Yoshio’s been surrounded his whole life by people who can speak to Morgana, so perhaps his cognition of Morgana as somebody who can take part in discussion is what allows them to converse.”

“But Hifumi’s been around us for years, and she still can’t hear Mona” Ryuji said.

“Yes, but Hifumi’s only ever known Morgana as a cat she can’t understand. It’s a mental block she cannot overcome. Every time she sees us talking to Morgana, she’s reminded that it’s something she’s not able to do.” Makoto looked back at Yoshio, who was trying to hold Morgana back with a stool. “Yoshio’s never perceived Morgana as somebody he cannot talk to. We've been speaking to Morgana around him as long as he’s been developing language skills. To Yoshio, the idea that Morgana can speak is a given, like water being wet or the sun being bright. It’s nothing out of the ordinary to him.”

“I think you’re onto something, Mako-Chan!” Haru beamed at Makoto. “My, human cognition never ceases to amaze, does it!?”

“I’ll say.” Ren smirked at his wife. “I think you missed your calling in Cognitive Psience.”

“Well, maybe now that I’m stuck on desk duty I’ll have time to write a dissertation about it.” Makoto put her hand on her swollen stomach. “I have five months to kill, after all.”

“I’d rather you didn’t put any undue stress on yourself.” Ren grabbed Makoto’s hand. “We don’t want anything to go wrong. Imagine how embarrassing it’d be if Ryuji’s kid could understand Morgana and ours couldn’t.”

“Hey!” Ryuji leered at Ren. “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“I’m just saying, if the child of two Persona users can’t talk to Morgana when the child of one Persona user can, then that’s a failure on our part as parents.”

“If you’re looking for a way to keep yourself busy over the next few months…” Haru interjected before the conversation could take an unpleasant turn. “There’s something I could use your help with, Mako-Chan.”

"Hm?" Makoto looked at Haru. “What do you need?”

“Well, earlier today, before we discovered Yoshio-Kun’s gift, we were discussing my love life.” Haru frowned slightly. “Or rather, my lack of one.”

“Oh yes, I had completely forgotten about that!” Hifumi broke out of her funk. “Makoto, Haru was saying that she’d like to meet somebody exciting. Given how you’re in the police, we thought that you may know somebody.”

“You mean a fellow officer?” Makoto fiddled with her headband, trying to think of who among her coworkers would be a good match for Haru.

“That could work.” Ryuji grinned. “Of course, if you’ve arrested anyone interestin’ lately, Haru’d prolly be fine with that too.”

“I doubt that Haru wants to date a convict, Ryuji.”

“I’m not so sure, Mako-Chan.” Haru looked at Ren and Makoto’s linked hands. “It seems to have worked out for you.”

“She’s got a point” Ren said.

“That’s completely different!” Makoto put her hands on her hips. “Ren was innocent!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t know that back then.” Ryuji grinned. “You were followin’ him around, thinkin’ he was some dangerous criminal. Did you have a crush on him before you joined the Phantom Thieves?”

“I’m certain she did.” Hifumi smirked. “Makoto’s definitely one to go for the bad boys.”

“That’s enough of that!” Makoto started blushing. “It’s not nice to tease a pregnant woman, you know! I’m very emotional right now!”

“Oh yeah?” Ryuji chuckled. “What’re you gonna do, arrest us?”

“She just might.” That old Joker grin appeared on Ren’s face. “Lately, I’ve been finding myself in handcuffs more and mo-“

“SO HARU…” Makoto slapped her hand over Ren’s mouth. “Why don’t we talk about what kind of man is your type and absolutely nothing else!?”

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah this is less of a cohesive story I guess and more of just a couple little fun bits I wanted to do. I realize the ending's pretty abrupt but I could stretch things out until I got sick of it or get to posting. I chose the latter.


End file.
